You went back to your home, everything was dusty and filled with spider webs, you took a deep breath and started cleaning the house, you kept imagining you are cleaning Clementineās feet, and sometimes you uncontrollably licked dust off the floor, then immediately got back to your senses and saddened.
Days passed and you still couldnāt get a hold of yourself, you kept dreaming about Clementineās feet, about the taste of her foot sweat, you were in a deep state of depression and just kept crying all day, you tried to drink water and have proper food but it just tasted terrible, all you wanted is her foot sweat.
One day you couldnāt take it anymore, you remembered her address, you went out and used public transportation to get to her place, you knocked on the door.
Clementine opened the door with a surprised expression, she wore a beautiful white dress and wore sandals, you looked down at her feet.
āMathieu! What are you doing here?ā She asked with a surprised high pitched tone.
āClementine please, I canāt live like that, you have to take me backā, you cried, and Clementine made a compassionate face.
āCome inā, she said and you walked inside, she went with you to her garden, the place you used to lick her feet almost daily, you both sat down on the sofa, she placed her legs over it in your direction, you couldnāt get your eyes off of them.
āI know it must be hard for you, but itās overā, she explained firmly, ālook, I already have another prisonerā, she pointed over the table, you saw a shrunken man inside a cage, you gasped in surprise, itās been just a few days, how come she already has someone else?
You looked at him, you were so jealous, you wanted to kill him and get inside the cage instead of him, āI.. I will commit crimes, you will have to take me back, Iāll ask for shrunken custodyā, you mumbled quickly in panic, you didnāt know what to say anymore.
āI would really advise against that, you will be in anotherās possession, you canāt be under the same owner twice in shrunken custodyā
You fell over your knees, begging her, you tried to kiss her feet but she pulled it away from you, āplease! Please!! Iāll do anything!ā You started crying.
āWhy donāt you look for another owner? Iām sure the city is full with girls who would just love having you as a foot slave, my sister is one of them, would you want me to talk with her?ā
āNo Clementine, I only want you, please, I need your foot sweat to survive, I donāt want to be your sisterās slaveā
She sighed, the moment you said that you donāt want to be her sisterās slave she completely lost interest in the conversation, āsorry, itās not happeningā, she said and stood up, you tried to kiss her feet again but she pulled it away, āIām going to need you to leaveā, she said firmly in an authoritative tone.
You obeyed by instinct, with your head bowed down you went out.
āIām really sorry about your stateā, she said from behind you, āif you want to be my younger sisterās slave just give me a call, Iām sure her foot sweat doesnāt taste much differently than mineā, and she closed the door behind you.
You sighed desperately and started walking to the bus station, you felt like she faked compassion just to give you to her sister, you already know her well enough to notice these nuances in her, you can see through her manipulations now.
You walked a few blocks and then you saw a commercial poster:
āWere you shrunken and canāt be in normal size anymore? Canāt eat anything but foot sweat?
Shrunken Lives Matters are here for you, call now:ā
You wrote down their hotline number, and when you got home you gave them a call.
āSLM here, Iām Shir, how can I help?ā A voice over the line answered.
āH..hello? Iām Mathieu, I.. I was a shrunken foot slave for the last 4.5 years, Iām having a very hard time going back to normalā
She asked more questions and you shared more information about your dire state, telling the whole story, how you got framed, the shrunken custody, the way you became fully dependent on Clementineās feet.
You told her how you canāt eat and drink properly, how everything feels wrong in normal size.
āOk, listen Mathieu, what you have is a classic Shrunken PTSD, itās completely normal considering how intense your slavery was.ā
āWhat should I do?ā You asked miserably.
āYou shouldnāt worry, take a deep breath, Iām sending a representative to your place, she will explain everything, youāll be ok! And in normal size, Iām sure of it, cheer up!ā She said in a spirited voice, trying to lift up your spirit.
āThank you Shir, Iāll wait for the representativeā. And you hanged up.
āāāāāāā
Few hours later someone knocked on your door, a young woman came in, she had a bag on her back, wore flip flops and short jeans.
āHi, are you Mathieu?ā
You nodded, she immediately approached and hugged you, you jumped, itās been such a long time since you felt someone touching you like that.
āFirst I want to tell you how sorry I am for what youāve been through, you poor thingā, she said and hugged a little harder, then released you, you were shocked.
She sat on your couch and opened her bag, she started taking out small sealed nylon bags filled with a transparent fluid, āso let me explain, these are foot sweat bags, donated by all sorts of good willed women across the city who wants to help poor people like youā
You slowly sat down and examined one of the bags.
āItās mainly to keep your nutrition going, you must take is slow, always mix it with water, and try to lower the amount every time, you can also use it on normal food as seasoningā
You nodded. She smiled, finished taking out all the sweat bags and placed them on your table, there were about a dozen.
You watched it and paused for a moment, āIām sorry but.. what about dead skin?ā You hesitated and blushed.
āDead skin? You mean from a sole?ā
You nodded and bowed your head down, so ashamed of asking something like that.
āOh you poor thing, that's good feedback, perhaps we should start gathering dead skin as wellā, she paused for a moment, āHmm itās kind of embarrassing but⦠perhaps I can help with that, you have a grater here?ā
You nodded and went to the kitchen, returned with a grater you used for cheese long ago.
She got her foot out of the flip flop and placed it on the table, it was almost black with dirt and filled with dead skin clusters, you gulped and stared at it, you would give everything to be shrunken down and eat it away.
Aimee blushed, and started grinding her sole above your living roomās table, you just stared at it, she kept grinding for maybe 10 minutes and then switched to the other foot that was in an equally bad shape, by the end of it a pile of precious dead skin powder was on your table, she rested her foot on the sofa for a moment, checking it out making sure she removed all the dead skin, then she placed her feet back in her flip flops, handed over the grater back to you.
āIām so sorry thatās all I have for you today Mathieu, I hope youāll be okā
āI understand⦠thank you so muchā¦ā, you said and gulped, looking at the foot sweat and dead skin.
āAnd hereās my numberā, she handed over a card, āif you feel alone, need someone to talk with, just give me a call ok? My name is Aimee, if the foot sweat is not enough we can help you in another way, but you must not lose hope ok? We can help you get back to normalā
āOk.. t..thank you Aimee, I.. really appreciate itā, you said slowly and nodded, she got up and gestured for another hug, you stood up and let her hug you goodbye, then she left.
The moment she closed the door you ran toward one of the bags, you punctured a hole in it with your teeth and started sucking it, closing your eyes, consuming the foot sweat, trying to imagine you are shrunken in front of Clementineās feet. Then you grabbed a pile of Aimeeās dead skin and shoved it inside your mouth, munching and swallowing it.
It was far better than regular food or water, and yet, it wasnāt with Clementineās special aroma, it wasnāt the sameā¦
āāāāāā
Weeks have passed, all you ate was the bags of foot sweat and the dead skin Aimee left you, sometimes you mixed it with water but it wasnāt good enough, when you reached the last bag, and the dead skin was all gone, you decided to give her another call.
āHi.. Aimee? I think I need helpā, and you explained your situation.
She hummed in understanding, āI see, maybe your state is more severe⦠perhaps we should go to SLM HQ, have a meeting with the organisationās psychologist, she helped many poor people in the same state, even men who were enslaved for 20 years, you were enslaved for just 4 years, Iām sure she will think of a solutionā
It sounded good to you, you let her schedule you an appointment.
You sucked the last bag of foot sweat and went out, used public transport to get to their HQ, they guided you over to one of the offices in the back, you sat outside an office and waited, there was a sign next to the door āJess Stinson, Psychologistā.
Next to you were some aquariums with shrunken men inside.
After perhaps 30 minutes the door opened up, a beautiful blonde stood by the entrance, you watched her and gulped, she handed over an aquarium with a shrunken man to one of the volunteers, āhumanitarian slavery, take him to Rachelā, and the volunteer quickly went away, then Jess turned her face to you.
āMathieu? Iāll see you nowā, she said and walked in, you got up and entered her office, shyly sitting on the chair beside her desk.
āOk, so I read your file, sorry, do you understand me?ā She spoke loud and slow, like sheās talking to a retarded person.
āYes, I understand⦠can you speak normally pleaseā, you mumbled, she reminded you a lot of Clementine by the way she looked.
āAh, forgive me, Iām used to speaking with shrunken men here.
Iām Jess, Iām the organisationās psychologist, Aimee told me all about your situation, and I read your file, shrunken custodyā, she explained and you nodded.
āIāll be honest and direct with you, I think itās a lost causeā
You opened your eyes in surprise, ālost cause?ā You asked.
āYes, you have a serious case of shrunken PTSD, the only humanitarian thing I can do with you is make you a foot slave just like you lived the last 4 yearsā.
āAre.. are you sure thereās no way to heal me? And for how long?ā
āHow long?ā She repeated after you and giggled, āfor the rest of your life of course, thatās what you are now - a shrunken foot slave in a normal size, itās not natural, we need to return you to your natural sizeā.
It didnāt sound right to you at all, āI.. I wasnāt expecting thatā you said confused.
āDonāt you want to return to a tiny size?ā She asked with a smile, getting closer to you with her chair.
āWell.. I really do, but..-ā
āSo why not? Iāll tell you what, letās shrink you, let you lick some foot sweat, then Iāll let you decide if you want to stay like that or continue your struggle with being normal sizeā, she was very confident, authoritative, it felt like she knows what sheās doing, her smile reminded you of Clementine again.
āOk..ā you said quietly, āI guess itās okā.
āGreat, A volunteer will come and escort you to the shrinking room then she will bring you back here, donāt be nervous, good luckā, she concluded, closed your file and placed it beneath her desk.
āYes.. thank you Jessā, you said and got up, when you opened the door a smiling volunteer stood there, and you walked together to the shrinking room.
You were anxious and excited about returning to tiny size.
āāāāā
End of part 10